smartphones

GSM Motorola Sholes hits FCC

We've been waiting a long time for the Google Android Motorola Sholes to clear the Federal Communications Commission, so you can imagine our disappointment when we saw just the GSM version of the handset get certification this week. It's the CDMA model for Verizon that we want, so we'll just have to hold out a little longer. The FCC also gave the nod to Acer's first crop of smartphones and the Nokia Booklet 3G. We know that the latter isn't a smartphone, but we threw it in anyway.

Because the FCC has to certify every … Read more

Nokia's smartphone problem

Nokia may still dominate the overall cell phone market, but a steady slide in its smartphone market share could threaten the company's long-term standing.

On Thursday Nokia announced third-quarter earnings that, despite an unexpected loss of $832 million in its telecommunications equipment unit, beat expectations. The company managed to ship about 3 million more handsets than analysts had expected. But it also reported that its share in the growing smartphone market is on the decline, a sign that Nokia is losing ground to competitors, such as Apple and Research In Motion.

Nokia's cell phone shipments and revenue were not as good as they were in 2008. But no one expected them to be. Still, the third quarter of 2009 showed a glimmer of hope that the global recession might be subsiding and people may be returning to normal buying patterns in the mobile market.

Nokia's executives told investors that the company's overall global market share is expected to remain unchanged for the year at about 38 percent, good news considering aggressive attacks from competitors, such as Samsung and LG.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia's CEO, said in a statement that the company sold more mobile phones in the third quarter than in the second quarter. And the company revised its expectations for the entire mobile phone market. Instead of seeing a total sales decline in 2009 of 10 percent, Nokia now sees a decline of only 7 percent compared to 2008.

Even though, Nokia appears to be holding its own in the overall handset business, it is losing ground in a very important segment of this market, which could hurt the company in the long run.… Read more

RIM BlackBerry Storm 2 previewed

Let's be honest. Research In Motion's first foray in the world of the touch-screen smartphones wasn't exactly a smashing success. The RIM BlackBerry Storm was riddled with bugs and performance issues, which were resolved with subsequent software updates, but still, the damage had been done. However, there are high hopes that the RIM BlackBerry Storm 2 will wash away all those bad memories and start afresh.

As of press time, Verizon Wireless did not reveal pricing or an exact release date for the Storm successor, but RIM dropped by our offices and left us a near-final product … Read more

Acer: We'll pass Dell 'very soon'

Acer President Gianfranco Lanci is feeling confident these days. At a news conference in London Wednesday, he declared that his company is on the verge of overtaking Dell as the second-largest PC maker in the world.

"We don't expect revenue to decline this year, which is outstanding, compared to our competitors. Therefore, we're (expecting) good growth in 2010 again," Lanci said. "Between this quarter and the next, we can finally pass Dell."

Dell currently sits behind Hewlett-Packard, which has been the world leader in PCs with approximately 20 percent of all units sold worldwide, … Read more

Google Android needs both control and community

To beat Apple in mobile, Google is going to need more open-source developers. But it's also going to need more Google.

It's tough to balance corporate interests with developer interests, and particularly in open-source development. TechCrunch's Michael Arrington suggests that Android developers are frustrated over having to support multiple code bases to cover the diverse handsets on which Android runs, which is indeed a problem. Basically, these developers are asking Google to exercise more control over Android to ensure it works seamlessly on a range of different devices.

Such developers, however, also want more choice than Apple … Read more

Nokia's Netbook gamble

NEW YORK--Nokia, the world's largest maker of cell phones, is getting into the computer business with its new Booklet 3G, setting the stage for a new era of competition in the mobile device market.

At a press event here Tuesday, Nokia took the wraps off the anticipated Booklet 3G, a Windows 7 Netbook that will run exclusively on AT&T's 3G wireless network. At a subsidized price tag of $299, Nokia has managed to hit the sweet spot in the Netbook market with a high-end device at a bargain price point.

Not only will the new Netbook … Read more

Report details AT&T wait to break even on iPhones

With its large subsidies to Apple, AT&T doesn't break even on iPhone accounts with high data-usage until the 17th month of a 24-month contract, according to a new report from Yankee Group.

The report, titled "The Golden Subsidy Egg's Goose is Cooked: Welcome to the Brave New Subsidy-Free World," looks at the downside of subsidies paid to manufacturers by cell phone carriers. The report cites AT&T's iPhone contract with Apple as a prime example.

Subsidies have typically helped mobile carriers offer customers free or low-cost devices in order to lure them … Read more

Samsung Omnia 2, up close and personal

The Samsung Omnia 2 was announced for Verizon Wireless back in June, but an official release date and pricing were not disclosed at that time. Unfortunately, CTIA Fall 2009 didn't reveal any new information, but we did finally get some hands-on time with the device.

Both Samsung and Microsoft had the Omnia successor displayed on the show floor, but a Microsoft employee was kind enough to part with his personal GSM version of the Omnia 2 so we could check it out. The smartphone was running Windows Mobile 6.5, but there's some question as to whether the … Read more

Hands on with the HTC HD2

Of all the Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones announced this week at CTIA Fall 2009, the HTC HD2 is arguably the sexiest and most powerful of the bunch.

The HD2 boasts a 4.3-inch WVGA (480x800) capacitive touch screen and is powered by Qualcomm's new 1GHz Snapdragon mobile processor, all while measuring just 0.43 inches in thickness. It also offers an HTC Sense user experience, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack--the works.

With those kind of impressive specs and sexy looks, can you blame us for being disappointed when it was … Read more